It's a good thing we have carpet

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Above is Julian’s first note to YaYa. (Translation: I looooooooove you. I miiiiiiiiiiissssss you. You’re the beeeeeessssssttt yaya in the woooooorld. And yes, I helped him sign his name.) We’ve played with pens and markers before, but this was his first time typing. He seemed to prefer his right hand. Mom and Dad are both right handed, as are Chelsea and YaYa and Grandpa, but who knows. He has hints of red in his hair, like his dad, so who knows what other non-Broyles genetic attributes will pop out.

The highlight of the day: Playing with my new birthday camera. It’s a Canon Rebel, (marketed for the renegade photographer in all of us, I presume) digital SLR, removable18-55mm zoom lens, built-in flash, big lcd screen—the whole kit ‘n’ caboodle. Through much rationalizing, which Ian and I are very good at, we decided to get it, and if anyone who usually gives me a birthday gift wants to contribute in lieu of said gift, we’ll put it toward the camera. I’ve had that Canon A-1 since I was in high school and it’s been with me everywhere. I won’t give that one up (maybe I’ll give it to Julian one day…), it just has too many stories behind it. But playing around with this new camera made me realize how much I love shooting. I think everybody has this hobby they secretly love and with they could devote their entire live toward. Everyone on the surface would say mine is writing, but photography is right up there. Speaking of secrets, I finally sent in a postsecret. Check out the link if you’re not familiar with this site. It was quite cathartic, and it’s a secret I’m willing to share that I’ve been contemplating and working on the postcard I sent in for months now. It’s harder than you think to do one. Try it, let me know if you have the same experience.

The lowlight of the day (and another thing I could keep secret if I wanted): Julian fell out of our bed this morning. I was catching a few more winks of sleep (see previous entry) and then I heard “thump” followed by a “waaaaahhhh” and I knew what had happened. Quick like lightening I was up and he was in my arms. And in a few seconds he was smiling and cooing again. I, on the other hand, was quite shaken up. Here I was, in my selfish mode, trying to sleep a little longer, and the little guy just wanted to explore and see what was going on on the other side of the mattress. I talked with both my mom and grandmother, and they had their own stories of children rolling out of car seats and falling down flights of stairs. I’m glad they were there to remind me that perfection is not an attainable goal in motherhood and to try to hold myself to that standard is futile and unfair. 

Before I sign off for today, I will make note that Julian has been trying out some different foods this week. First, I put an avocado in one of these little mesh bags things, and he seemed to love it. A few days later he tried a mango and seemed pleased. No signs of allergic reaction so far. Today, I think I’ll let him play with some bowtie pasta I’m getting ready to eat for lunch. Exploration, not sustenance, is the goal behind baby led weaning, a technique we are trying out.